I want to draw your attention to a fantastic new recording of Miklós Rózsa’s film score El Cid. This lavish complete edition – spread across three CDs – is performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus and conducted by Nic Raine.
El Cid is possibly Rózsa’s greatest score for an historical epic, which means it is among the great film scores in Hollywood history. There have been a number of (incomplete) recordings issued since the film’s premiere in 1961, but nothing on the scale of this new album. I applaud the philanthropic efforts of James Fitzpatrick, of Tadlow Music, who is responsible for realising this ambitious project.
See the Tadlow Music website for MP3 clips and ordering details (Tadlow is offering free shipping anywhere in the world).
Links: Doug Raynes’s account of the scoring sessions in Prague; Stephen Woolston’s five-star review at Music from the Movies; and the endlessly informative discussion thread on the forum of the Miklós Rózsa Society Website.
And here is a YouTube clip of the recording sessions:
